Atlanta United v D.C. United: Guzan prepares for final hurrah
Brad Guzan will play the last match of his professional career when Atlanta United take on D.C. United on decision day.
Brad Guzan hopes he will be remembered as a “competitor” as the Atlanta United goalkeeper prepares for the final professional match of his career.
The 41-year-old, who also had spells with Aston Villa, Hull City and Middlesbrough in England, will play his last game when Atlanta take on D.C. United on Saturday.
Guzan has made 324 appearances in MLS, keeping 92 clean sheets and making 789 saves across those matches.
He has kept the fifth-most clean sheets in the competition’s history and made the ninth-most saves, while he helped Atlanta win the 2018 MLS Cup, 2019 U.S. Open Cup and 2019 Campeones Cup.
“I [want to be remembered] as a competitor, as someone that gave everything for his teammates, gave everything for those around him, as someone that could be counted on," Guzan said.
“I was certainly not short of any mistakes and whatnot, but somebody that was able to be resilient and bounce back and continue to fight.
“If guys were going into battle, they look back and they said, 'Hey, I got Brad, and we're gonna be okay today.'”
Head coach Ronny Deila added: “We will do everything to honour a fantastic career, because he is a fantastic guy.
“He's an unbelievable leader. He's done so many unbelievable things in his career, so that's something we have to honour.”
D.C. are currently bottom of the Eastern Conference, two points behind Atlanta heading into the final regular-season game.
The visitors have only won once in MLS action since the start of June, defeating New York City FC 2-1 in August.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Atlanta United – Emmanuel Latte Lath
Emmanuel Latte Lath has scored seven goals in 29 MLS games this season, more than any of his team-mates.
He missed three crucial games in August through injury, but made his first start in seven games last time out against Inter Miami.
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Christian Benteke has been D.C. United’s biggest threat this season, scoring nine goals and registering three assists.
Despite their poor form, Benteke has directly contributed to three goals in their last five matches.
MATCH PREDICTION – ATLANTA UNITED WIN
D.C. have lost three straight matches while being held scoreless in each of the last two. They have been shut out an MLS-high 13 times this regular season, their most in a season since 2022 (16).
Atlanta have suffered three consecutive shutout losses in league play for the second time this season (also in April), after doing so once in team history entering 2025 (July 2020). All other MLS teams combined have one such losing streak this season (St. Louis City SC).
Atlanta and D.C. played out a 0-0 draw when the clubs met at Audi Field in July. That is the only goalless draw in the 20 all-time matches in the fixture across all competitions.
In their last six league matches, Atlanta United have won one, drawn one and lost four. DC United, meanwhile, have won one, drawn two and lost three in their last six.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Atlanta United – 53.6%
Draw – 23.8%
D.C. United – 22.6%